Re: 5 Elements, Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur
Posted: Dec 2nd, '12, 21:40
Awesome! I dug out his card: yup yup, Tung Ting Tea Center, Hiew Yee Choy. Who is your mentor there? PM me if you do't want to print his name in public? Mr. Hiew is my Malaysian teacher's teacher, which is how I met him. When we first met, he was sweeping up a brocken master teapot and laughing about it!
For me, I didn't buy anything because when I was there (this past summer-2012), he has all very, very high-end stuff: master-level pots running thousands usd! In no way because his stuff isn't good. It's beyond great. I just got the impression spending time with him and his crew (a whole gang of teashop owners) that each shop specializes in a certain level, with new shops selling lower quality, cheaper goods, and the older, more established places selling more expensive, higher quality stuff. He seemed, as far as I could tell, the grandaddy of the lot, selling the nicest pots around and the most expensive. Actually, I was interested in buying from him, since I was getting pots and tea at the time and he had been so kind to me, but he encouraged me not to!!!! He sent me down the way to the other guy on the floor, who was shifting from lower to middle-end goods, and who gave me some really really stupid great discounts (when his wife wasn't there... ). Mr. Hiew figured my budget would fit better in that shop. You can't beat a shop owner who recognizes that another shop will suite your needs better, and sends you away!
Anyway, that's why I recommend sipping and not buying, unless you have serious cash. But if he has anything on the cheaper side I would say he is definitely a super trust-worthy guy and I would love for anyone to read all this and buy from him. He gave me a 250g brick of some tasty 2000 sheng: part of a Fu Wu Sou Shi (as always, sorry for my awful transliterations) 4-brick kilo deal, for free, just because I liked it and he liked how enthusiastic I was.
BTW, I posted a photo of a Da Hong Pao Zhuni pot a while back, in another thread. That was at Mr. Hiew's shop.
When were you last there?
For me, I didn't buy anything because when I was there (this past summer-2012), he has all very, very high-end stuff: master-level pots running thousands usd! In no way because his stuff isn't good. It's beyond great. I just got the impression spending time with him and his crew (a whole gang of teashop owners) that each shop specializes in a certain level, with new shops selling lower quality, cheaper goods, and the older, more established places selling more expensive, higher quality stuff. He seemed, as far as I could tell, the grandaddy of the lot, selling the nicest pots around and the most expensive. Actually, I was interested in buying from him, since I was getting pots and tea at the time and he had been so kind to me, but he encouraged me not to!!!! He sent me down the way to the other guy on the floor, who was shifting from lower to middle-end goods, and who gave me some really really stupid great discounts (when his wife wasn't there... ). Mr. Hiew figured my budget would fit better in that shop. You can't beat a shop owner who recognizes that another shop will suite your needs better, and sends you away!
Anyway, that's why I recommend sipping and not buying, unless you have serious cash. But if he has anything on the cheaper side I would say he is definitely a super trust-worthy guy and I would love for anyone to read all this and buy from him. He gave me a 250g brick of some tasty 2000 sheng: part of a Fu Wu Sou Shi (as always, sorry for my awful transliterations) 4-brick kilo deal, for free, just because I liked it and he liked how enthusiastic I was.
BTW, I posted a photo of a Da Hong Pao Zhuni pot a while back, in another thread. That was at Mr. Hiew's shop.
When were you last there?